hi t
in
and returned with a different c a p ; but as the alteration
was trifling, I have retained the sketch as it
was first made. This little trait is characteristic—
I do not mean of female vanity, but—of that desire
to please, however humble andloAvly their situation
in life may be. I had scarcely finished my sketch
Avhen the husband came i n ; whom I immediately
set down in my own mind, as a far less
agreeable looking person than his wife. I offered
to take his portrait, as an accompaniment to that
of his mate, but he seemed rather unwilling to allow
me to do so : however after assuring him that I only
wished to have it to show to my friends, at a distance,
how the Laplanders wore their clothes, and
by coaxing him with a few skillings, he at length
stepped out, with all the dignity he could muster,
into the centre of the room. It was as much as I
could do to refrain from smiling at the ludicrous
and self-important manner in which he took up his
position, and the awkward attitude into which he
threw himself, for the purpose of having his graceful
figure transferred to paper. Llaving finished
my sketch, they both complimented me by declaring
how very like the two portraits were, and
th a t they knew each other again immediately.
The woman was inclined to be very friendly and
communicative; she showed us a Avritten paper,
which had just been issued by the magistrate of
the district, stating that wolves had lately been
observed in great numbers, and cautioning people